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Analysis and Technology

UK plans to favour AI firms over creators with a new copyright regime

One of the biggest uncertainties in the ongoing AI revolution is whether these systems can legally be trained on copyrighted data. Now, the UK says it plans to clarify the matter with a change to the law

By Chris Stokel-Walker

17 December 2024

Many AI models are trained on copyrighted material

Metamorworks/Getty Images

The UK government has announced plans to allow artificial intelligence models to be trained on copyrighted content, settling one of the big uncertainties of the current AI revolution – but the proposal has been criticised by campaigners who worry about the way AI companies already allegedly flout copyright rules.

“There’s nothing balanced about it,” says Ed Newton-Rex, a musician and former executive at AI company Stability AI. “It will hand most of the UK’s creative work to AI companies, for free, letting them build highly scalable competitors to…

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